Thomas howaed pegeam and john henby kestee



NiTED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

THOMAS HOVARD PEGRAM AND JOHN HENRY K ESTER, OF WINSTON, NORTH CAROLINA;SAID KESTER ASSIGNOR TO SAID PEGRAM.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 'No. 294,501, dated March4, 1884.

LApplication tiled June 4, 1883. (No model.)

'o @ZZ whom it may concern, v

Be it known that we, THOMAS HOWARD PE- GRAM and JOHN HENRY Kns'rnn, bothcitizens lof the United States, residing at Winston, in'

the county of Forsyth and State of North Carolina, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Car-Couplings; and we do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

Our invention relates to that class of carcouplings in which thecoupling-pin is causedv to automatically drop through the draw-head andenter the coupling-link to couple the cars by the action of the carscoming together.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple and effective-arrangement of devices whereby railroad-cars, especially freight-cars,may be automatically coupled and uncoupled with out going between thesame, IJthus preventing numerous accidents and loss of life resultingfrom the necessity of going between the cars and handling the couplingdevices.

To this end, therefore, the invention consists of a band placed aroundthe front portion of the draw-head and projecting slightly from thefront edge thereof, to which is attached at each side rods for holdingsaid band in position, and to form a means for holding suitable coiledsprings, which act to keep the band projected in a forward positionbeyond the' edge of the draw-head, this band acting to hold thecoupling-pin in a vertically-suspended position, and as a means forautomatically tripping-the said pin and causing the coupling together ofthe cars upon the coming together of the drawheads of the same, and alsoserving as a springbuffer for the cars, as will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the drawings which form a part of this application, and inwhich'similar letters of reference indicate like parts in the severalviews, Figure 1 represents a side elevation, partly in section, of twoadjacent railroad-cars provided with our proposed improvement; Fig. 2, acentral longitudinal sectional view of the same, showing thecoupling-pin in a vertic-ally-suspended position; Fig. 3, aplan,partlyin section, with the oars as close together Fig. 4 is a front elevationof thecar with the coupling-pin as in its coupled position.

-A A represent the adjacent ends of two railroad-cars, and BB thedraw-heads thereof, secured in the usual or any approved manner to theframes of the cars. C is the coupling-pin, and D the link. Attached tothe coupling-pin C by a link, e, is a bent or double-crank-shaped rod,E, which has its bearing upon the end of the car, as at F. This rod Ehas a right-angled bend or arm, e', at thesides of the car, by which tooperate said rod and through it raise the coupling-pin, as willhereinafter appear. At the top of the draw-head, in front of thepin-hole C', is formed a recess or seat, c, for the coupling-pin. of thedraw-head, sliding thereon7 and projecting slightly from the front edgethereof, is a band, G, to which is attached at each side rods H H, whichpass through guides h h, secured Around the front portion to the sidesof the body of the'draw-head, and

have thereon, between said guides h h, coiled springs I I, which act tokeep the band G projected in a forward position. At the top of the vbandis formed a head, G', having a hole, g,

therethrough, through which passesv the coupling-pin. This hole g is ofan oval form, of a size slightly in excess of the diameter of thecoupling-pin, for the purposes as will hereinafter appear.

The operation of the parts is as follows: By raising the handles e ofthe rod E, the coupling-pin is raised, and at the same time, because ofthe close connection between the end c and the pin, the top end of thepin is carried'back toward the car, which causes the pin to assume aslightly-inclined position and brings its lower end into the seat c,formed adjacent to thepinhole of the draw-head. By this means the pin israised and suspended in avertical position, the oblong opening gf in thehead Gi of the band Gpermitting the piri to assume such an inclinedposition necessary to raise the pin and bring its end into the seat forthe same on the top of the draw-head. As the cars approach together, thefront edges of the band around the draw-head come together, and, notbeing rigidly secured in position, they are carried back until the facesof the draw-heads come flush together, which limits the movement of saidband or pin-tripping device. As this band reeedes by the Contact of thecars as they advance toward each other, the lower end of thecoupling-pin, being held by the head or enlargement of the band throughwhich said coupling-pin passes. is also carried backward and over thepin-hole in the draw-head, into which it at once drops, and, passingthrough the coupling-link which had previously entered the mouth of thedraw-head, couples the cars together. On the reverse movement of theears the band is again driven forward by the spiral springs at itssides, the slot in the head ofthe band permitting this without referenceto the contact of the coupling-pin.

By the herein described arrangement of parts a simple and effectivemeans is produced for uncoupling railroad-cars without going be- 'extendto the side of the car and the other is connected to the band G. Theobject of this lever is to provide a means whereby the band may bemanipulated or forced forward and backward by hand from the outside ofthe cars in case the springs I should be unable to drive the bandforward because of accumulated ice, snow, or other obstruction.

Having thus fully described our invention, the nature, objects, andadvantages thereof, what we claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States, isi.

l. In a car-coupling, the combination of the draw-head B, having theseat c for the coupling-pin at its top portion, band G, encompassing orpassing entirely around the front portion of the draw-head andprojecting from the front edge of the same, guide-rods H, attached ateach side of the band, and springs I, mounted upon said rods and actingto keep the band in a forward position, with the coupling-pin adapted bysuitable means to be held in avertically-snspended position above thepin-hole, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. In a ear-coupling, the combination, with the draw-head B, having seatc in its top portion, and band G, encircling the front portion ofthedraw-head and projecting from the front edge of the same, of the leverO, pivoted to the end of the car, and attached to the band, whereby saidband may be operated by hand at the side of the car, for the purposesset forth.

In testimony whereof we hereto affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

THOMAS HOWARD PEGRAM. JOHN HENRY KESTER. Witnesses:

T. H. PEGRAM, Jr., XV. M. HINsi-IAW.

